Vatech EzDent-i Software Bridge Setup Guide

This guide describes the installation and setup of the Vatech EzDent-i software bridge for use with Dentrix Ascend Imaging.

Overview

Dentrix Ascend Imaging supports the acquisition of intraoral, extraoral, and CBCT images from the Vatech EzDent-i software on a computer running the Windows operating system. The Vatech EzDent-i software must be installed on each computer that the software bridge will be used.

Notes:

  • It is recommended that all acquisition devices are configured in the Vatech EzDent-i software on each computer that will acquire images using the Vatech EzDent-i software bridge.

  • Prior to the installation of any imaging devices or setting up the Vatech EzDent-i software, the acquisition agent application must be installed on each computer that will acquire images using the software bridge. Refer to Setting up the acquisition agent for instructions on downloading and installing the acquisition agent.

Recommended Versions

  • EzDent-i v3.4.5 or later

  • Ez3D-i v5.4.8 or later

  • EzServer v5.3.3 or later

Configuration for 3D Volumes

To configure the recommended 3D volume settings, do the following:

  1. Open the acquisition agent preferences. On the DICOM tab, if applicable for your needs, select the Compress DICOM Volumes and Cache DICOM Volumes checkboxes. Specify the Cache folder to be a shared folder with plenty of storage space so each computer can use the same cache for efficiency.

Testing

The Vatech EzDent-i software bridge is now functional in Dentrix Ascend Imaging. To acquire a test intraoral image, do the following:

  1. In the Imaging Procedures list, select Bitewing Single Image.

  2. Select any teeth for the test.

  3. On the Acquisition Method for this imaging exam menu, select Vatech EzDent-i Software.

    Notes:

    • If you are acquiring for a 3D exam, the Acquire volume snapshot only checkbox must be selected so a 2D image of the volume instead of the full volume will be transferred. The 2D image is linked to the full volume in the Vatech EzDent-i software.

    • When you use the "Open in App" feature on any 3D image, EzDent-i opens and then Ez3D-i opens, showing the image.

  4. Click Proceed with Acquisition.

  5. EzDent-i opens automatically and selects the patient. Select the Acquisition tab to begin acquisition in the imaging software.

  6. Acquire an image in the Vatech EzDent-i software. Click Save to DB to save the image to the EzDent database so the images will also appear in Dentrix Ascend Imaging.

Troubleshooting

If there is an issue with 3D volume acquisition, you can enable an option in the acquisition agent to retain the last 3D volume for testing purposes. To enable this option, do the following:

  1. Close the acquisition agent.

  2. Browse to the acquisition agent running directory (the default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Acquisition Agent).

  3. Open the Acquisition Agent.ini file in a text editor, such as Notepad.

  4. Under the [Debug] section, set the following parameter: RetainLastVolume = True.

  5. Save the file, and then close the text editor.

  6. Double-click Acquisition Agent.exe, which is in the same folder as the .ini file.

  7. Acquire a test volume.

  8. Browse to the temp folder location to get the volume for testing: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Local\Temp.

  9. You can now try to manually import the test volume instead of using the software bridge. If it fails with the import method, the issue is likely the volume itself. Otherwise, it is likely an issue with the software bridge configuration or possibly anti-virus software.

  10. Make sure that you reset the parameter in the .ini file (see step 4): RetainLastVolume = False.